The British tabloids scream ‘Cheryl in Crisis — Her Painful Choice, New Details Inside. She’s in a bad way!’ This as the stunning singer comes to terms with claims that her husband of three-and-a-half years, Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole, has been unfaithful. Across the Pond the bets are on as to how David Beckham will extricate himself from the latest sex scandal, while Golfer Tiger Wood’s wife Elin Nordegran is snapped hopping commercial instead of private. It’s nice and quiet, however, inside the opulent Terra Nova Suite of the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, as SO conducts a fashion shoot and interview with our own WAG Shackelia Thomas, wife of Kansas City Wizards defender and senior member of the Reggae Boyz Shavar Thomas.

The attractive, ever so charming twenty-somethingyear-old (who has an uncanny resemblance to hurdler Brigitte Foster) is as comfortable changing into her eclectic wardrobe as she is in her marriage. “This marriage is not just between Shavar and I, but it’s a commitment to God… I’d rather let Shavar down than God,” she declares.

Eschew all thoughts of a Bible-thudding femme fatale, though. Shackelia is anything but! She is, however, a level-headed, praying wife who’s proud of her Orange Street roots. (“I still use my address and it’s also on my driver’s licence.”) And of her parents, dad Robert Jackson, an autoelectrician, and mum Venise Montague, a nurse. And yes, the fact that she attended and graduated from the University of the West Indies, Mona, with an Upper Second Class degree in English & Political Science “without a student’s loan — my parents saved towards my education”.

Hubby’s success doesn’t impress her, either. “I don’t see him as a celebrity,

Turn to WAG on Page 12 especially when he’s here in Jamaica. It’s a different story, however, in the US where the celebrity is part of the culture.”

The WAGS are also wary of outsiders and form a protective shield around their own, a point that truly resonates when Shackelia recollects an incident that occurred when, new in town, she stopped by the Kansas City club one day to watch her husband play. “I was asked outright who I was there watching. My response was ‘the team’.” That proved insufficient. “Yes, but who in particular?” she was prodded. It was only when our WAG responded, “My husband”, that a handshake and warm embrace were proffered. In other words, as she wryly observes, “I was now welcomed as part of the club.”

Shackelia can also relate to reality TV stars Hank and Kendra, who, very soon after settling in their new house, had to pack up and move. “We’re much more settled now but have had our share of moving,” she tells S O. Jamaican footballer Shavar Thomas, who currently plays for Kansas City Wizards in Major League Soccer, has had stints in Philadelphia with the Philadelphia Union and in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Mention of Los Angeles invariably moves the conversation to the Becks — Posh Spice and footballer David Beckham, two individuals that are admired by Shackelia. “I’m in a fiveyear marriage and have to be confident… confidence is a must. If you’re not confident the silliest thing can disturb you and you very well might end up feeling inferior as opposed to equal,” she says philosophically. About Victoria Beckham, a woman she admires, she has this to say: “I love Victoria Beckham… I love her confidence. There was, you might recall, a case alleging infidelity on the part of her husband. Mrs Beckham faced the paparazzi with a T-shirt that spoke volumes — ‘I’m Mrs Beckham’. I would do the same thing…Truth is, women who enable these married men (albeit with money and power) are to be pitied. I encourage everyone to read Beckham by David Beckham.”

Indeed, a word to the wise.

Mr & Mrs Shavar Thomas plan to return home and settle comfortably into their own space. Our guess is that they’ll do that as elegantly as they have been living.